As the Kirsty Bentley case is back in the headlines, a famous photo of her is also back in the public eye. But as Simon Bradwell writes, there's a story behind the picture.
Kirsty Bentley is instantly recognisable to many New Zealanders thanks to a photograph that's as famous as the murder mystery itself.
Clad in denim overalls, a sunlit Kirsty is lounging in a comfy chair, enjoying an unknown joke with the photographer.
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It captures perfectly the joy and innocence of a carefree young teenage girl. And somehow, it came to symbolise the terrible loss caused by her murder.
It's the photo that accompanies this article, and it's the photo that Kirsty's mum Jill later used on the cover of her book.
In fact, it's a photograph that's used almost any time the Bentley case is in the media - surely one of the most-published crime photographs in our history.
However it's a photograph that police didn't want media to use - but Kirsty's family did.
In the summer of 1998-9, I was a reporter for the Sunday News in Christchurch, and on January 2 1999 was sent down to cover Kirsty's disappearance in Ashburton.
Kirsty had been missing since New Year's Eve, and media had been using a photograph distributed by police which showed her in clothing she was wearing on the day she went missing - namely, a blue sarong.
But in that photo, Kirsty also had a sullen look on her face, and the perspective made her look towering.
When I met with Kirsty's parents Sid and Jill for a long interview, they painted a picture of a bright, bubbly girl, small in stature and completely at odds to the 'official' photo.
Knowing the story would be on the front page, it seemed that a more accurate, happy photo would reflect Kirsty's true personality, and inspire people to respond to calls for information.
Would Jill have a photograph they would prefer us to use than the one police had circulated?
Her face lit up. Yes, she had a recent photograph that she adored and would love us to use. She didn't like the photo police were using either - she said it made Kirsty look big and grumpy - but was told showing the sarong was more important than a flattering photograph.
She understood the police rationale but she didn't like it.
Now she was glad of the chance to show the 'real' Kirsty. She hurried to find the print - taken on film, no digital cameras then - and I knew straight away it was gold. I promised to use it, and return it to the family.
I also knew it wouldn't take long for other media – including our stablemate but bitter rival The Sunday Star-Times - to have the same idea, so I told Jill and Sid to tell any journalists wanting the photograph to call me, so they wouldn't have to deal with it.
I had no intention of answering those calls. We had a scoop and I knew it.
I returned the photograph to the Bentleys after dark - and after deadline - and got a telling-off from Sid for my low-level subterfuge.
Jill though, was just thrilled and grateful we'd broken ranks with police, and the public would see her beloved daughter as she really was.
The Sunday Star-Times did run a photograph from the same film, but it didn't have quite the same magic.
After that, every media outlet got the photograph and the sarong photograph was rarely sighted again.
The new photo hadn't captured what Kirsty was wearing, but it had captured Kirsty.
It helped inspire the huge wave of public sympathy, interest and information in the case.
A fitting and poignant epitaph to Kirsty, in a case that's baffled and haunted the country for 20 years.
Simon Bradwell is a former Sunday News and TVNZ journalist, who worked with police and Kirsty’s family to cover Kirsty’s disappearance.
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